Running Mates
by Naidoo
Summary: Ranger doesn't take too well to the idea of Stephanie and Cal being running mates. Maybe they do more than just running?


_AN: This was supposed to be a light-hearted Cal/Steph-frienship piece with a hint of won't they/will they BABE. Somehow... it turned into quite a bit of angst. It is marked as a oneshot for now and also marked as fnished, but I guess if interest is there I could continue this. On a sidenote, I am not sure why, but I'm slightly obsessed with Cal. Not sure why, seeing he probably has a total of a page or two if you count all his appearances in the books._

* * *

Ranger didn't look impressed. He didn't look particularly angry either, but then again he never did. Ranger wasn't someone whose emotions you could read in his facial expressions. Well, hardly anyway. If you knew him a bit better you knew certain signs that could give you a clue.

"How long has that been going on?" he asked calmly.

"What do you mean?" I asked, for once really not knowing what he was referring to. My best guess was that he heard somewhere a rumor from someone that I and Morelli were back on – which was false. But well… people saw things they wanted to see. Didn't really mean it was true though.

Joe and I decided to call it quits – well, more me than him to be honest. I figured I needed someone in my life who supported my decisions, despite not liking them. I needed someone who wasn't telling me every second that I sucked at my job, or that my job would kill me one of these days. Surprisingly, both were facts that I was very aware of without someone telling me about it. I especially did need someone who wouldn't tell me to stay away from guys that were mostly a phone call away to sort out crap I had gotten myself into just because he had issues with what he was or wasn't. Joe was a lot of things. He was a good cop for example. He was a decent friend and chef and he was ok when it came to handy-work. What he wasn't good at was being a great boyfriend. He was into marriage and children, I saw myself more as a free spirit. Never mind that I was barely able to look after myself or have my finances in check. How was I supposed to be responsible for a small child?

I remember Ranger once told me he was opportunist and that if my bed was cold for too long he'd move in on me. Or something along the lines. Thing is, my bed had been cold now – so to speak – for a while but I was still waiting for him to make a move. And I suspect I would keep waiting. With Ranger I sometimes I suspected he was more interested in the chase and less in the result.

"Cal," was all he said, answering my earlier question". And and now it was my turn to be surprised since I wasn't entirely sure what he was talking about.

"His and your shared morning routine…" he offered, making me finally realize what he was talking about.

"You mean him being my running partner?" I asked. Thing was a while back I decided I needed to do something about my level of fitness. It had nothing to do with Joe's constant nagging, but more with the fact that I wasn't sure I could live through another senior citizen outrunning me with his walker and me therefore being the center of yet another joke at TPD. So I bit the bullet and decided on getting more active. On one of me morning walks – since I wasn't kidding myself into believing I could actually run for a longer period of time – I ran into Cal, who as a matter of fact was running.

One thing led to another and we sort of became running mates.

At first I was worried this would end like it had when Ranger had dragged me out of bed once to go running. But Cal surprisingly was a good running partner. Despite the fact that I was almost certain I was going at a speed that was way way way too slow for Cal's usual standards he stuck by my side and eventually we managed to really get me from fast walking to a run. I certainly wasn't going to be Marathon material anytime soon, but for me it was progress and success.

I always had liked Cal. He was scary when you looked at him, with his flaming skull tattoo on his head. But once you got to know him a little he turned out to be a sweet and rather entertaining guy.

"Why didn't you come to me, Babe?" he asked and I could hear the hurt in his voice. Despite what everyone else says about Ranger, he actually has feelings and these can be hurt by others. He wouldn't obviously ever admit to it really. And great, now I managed to hurt Ranger. Awesome, just another item of things I so wasn't really wanting to do today.

I thought about it for a moment, wondering whether I should simply be honest. I figured in the end, it couldn't be much worse now, could it?

"Well… I didn't plan on having a … partner. And… you are Batman," I stated, seeing him looking at me confused for the split of a second, before raising his eyebrows ever so slightly. "I mean…. You excel at everything. You are never failing at something mundane and simple and you… expect everyone else around you to do the same."

"Babe," he started, but I interrupted him quickly.

"Look…. I get it and quite honestly I wish I was a lot more like you. But, I'm not. And… as much as I like spending time with you, having you as my running mate is not the best of ideas. Just look at how our first time running went. I almost died!"

"Babe," he said again, slightly amused. "You did not almost die. You lost your breakfast but that was it…."

"Losing my breakfast is the equivalent of dying," I informed him at which he looked even more amused. What? I was a food-person. And not one of these 'dressing on the side' ones. Never mind that dressing meant I ordered salad and _that_ would probably never happen.

Ranger smiled at me. He smiled his special 'You amuse me' smile.

"Are you sleeping with him?" he asked before I know what was happening and for a second I thought I misheard.

"That is none of your goddamn business," was my first response, not believing he'd ask me that. His features change for a moment I knew he so did not like my answer, but quite honestly, I didn't care. He was always telling me he'd make a move but nothing ever happened. So let him think what he wanted to think. He could kiss my backside in regards of this for all I cared. But… I wasn't Cal I realized.

Cal would probably end up with a _date_ on the mats, facing Ranger and maybe a similar question. The thing was, as much as I loved these guys and as smart as they all were they didn't really _talk_. They rather took their business on the mats at ridiculous o'clock and get it sorted there. Not sure what was wrong with a normal conversation, but well… boys will be boys and all that.

So I sighed, answering finally with "No, I'm not. It still isn't yours or anyone's business, but…. no. It is simply us running together. Nothing more, nothing less. He is a good guy and a great friend, but that's all he is to me."

He seemed to relax and I found myself wondering what his problem was. But what was I asking? These were men. It seemed like all the men in my life – or rather two specific ones – always seemed to be interested when they couldn't have me. When I was available all interest all of a sudden vanished and I was like a no-go. It was frustrating to say the least.

"I do love you, Babe," he said and I sighed again. This was… just great.

"Yes," I said a bit louder. "In your own damn way. And you know what? I'm actually tired of people telling me they love me but then finishing with a whole freaking novel-length list of 'buts'. I get it I'm not perfect or Burg-wife material. I get it I'm not Jeanne Ellen Burrows or Mrs. Joseph Morelli. I get it that I don't seem to ever be enough or quite competent enough. I get that I'm not the way my mother would like me to be and that I probably do suck at being a bounty hunter. I'm well aware that the odd jobs you give me are jobs you can be certain I don't screw up and yet, somehow I still manage. I'm aware I'm not RangeMan and certainly no Ranger-material but guess what? I am stuck with what I have. And instead of actually trying to accept that, everyone just keeps telling me what is wrong and needs to be changed or shouldn't be done in the first place…" I said, feeling my frustrations taking over. Sure, Ranger was one of the few people whose list of things that I should maybe look into was rather short, but it was a list nevertheless.

"Babe, that's not what I…." he started, but I interrupted him.

"Not what you meant?" I asked, making my way slowly back to the closed door of his office. I opened it and before leaving turned around. I only saw him nodding at me finishing his sentence. "You sure?" I asked and saw him look at me confused for a second, before nodding. "Then why do you seem more interested in what me and Cal might or might not be, instead of focusing on the fact that for once I actually got my ass up and took up running? You were always on my case about living healthier and getting more active. But weirdly enough, your interest here seems to lay more with what Cal and I do or don't do than rather on the fact that I finally made a step in the direction you have been trying to push me for years." I said, letting my statement linger in the air before closing the door to his office behind me and walking away.

I walked past Cal on monitors on my way out and decided to let him know I might not be up for running tomorrow. It would have been the first time since we started almost two months ago.

"Are you alright?" he asked and I simply nodded, before walking towards the elevators and getting eventually outside. It had started raining while I had been inside but I didn't care when standing on the sidewalk out RangeMan, taking a deep breath and then another.

Right now I needed space. And the slight drizzle on my face when moving my head skywards with my eyes closed felt good. Soothing. Relaxing.

I knew, eventually me and Ranger would be good again. He would get over whatever it was that bugged him right now and I would get past my annoyance that he always talked about making a move and claiming me as his, but nothing ever happened. Eventually we would just ignore what had happened now. Because that was another thing we were really good at: Not talking.

We were best of friends and that little episode wouldn't change that.

Unfortunately. But that was Ranger and I for you. And I was ok with that.

If I just said that often enough to myself eventually I'd believe it as well.

Eventually!


End file.
